Major League Baseball 2015

Al East:Toronto Blue JaysBaltimore Orioles New York YankeesBoston Red SoxTampa Bay RaysNotable Changes: Blue Jays add Josh Donaldson from athletics and may be favorites to take the division.

AL Central:Detroit TigersCleveland IndiansChicago White SoxKansas City RoyalsMinnesota TwinsNotable Changes: Tigers add David Price and look to take the division, Twins have a ton of young talent including top overall prospect Byron Buxton and may look to call up some of their young players as the year goes on.

Nl East:Atlants BravesWashington NationalsPhiladelphia PhilliesNew York MetsMiami MarlinsNotable Changes: This is the Nationals and Marlins division now. Braves overhauled their roster, Phillies will probably be the worst team in MLB (sob) and the mets are still probably a year away from contending.

Nl Central:St. Louis CardinalsChicago CubsMilwaukee BrewersCincinatti RedsPittsburgh PiratesNotable Changes: Cubs are most intruiging team in MLB. Army of young prospects including Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, and Jorge Soler will look to join Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro and take this team out of irrelevance.

Nl West:Arizone DiamondbacksColorado RockiesSan Diego PadresLos Angeles DodgersSan Francisco GiantsNotable changes: Padres redo entire outfeild and will look to compete with the Dodgers for the division. Rockies must stay healthy but have the talent to compete deep into the playoffs.

4/17 cubs call up Kris Bryant, prized 3rd base prospect who has the potential to hit 40 home runs a year.4/20 cubs call up Addison Russel, another prized prospect. Russel is a shortstop by trade but will play 2nd base with the cubs for the time being, he is regarded as probably the best shortstop prospect in the game, maybe beind the astros Carlos Correria. He will hit for great power at the position and play stellar defense. Cubs getting exciting and scary, I wish I was a fan.

Al East:Toronto Blue JaysBaltimore Orioles New York YankeesBoston Red SoxTampa Bay RaysNotable Changes: Blue Jays add Josh Donaldson from athletics and may be favorites to take the division.

the blue jays are not going to win the American League East this year.Alex Anthopoulos does not have the background as a scout and talent evaluator to make very smart and risky moves as GM.All he can do is make consensus type moves.

Anthopoulos is an average GM. so expect average results on the field.

Toronto should bring back Pat Gillick from Philadelphia if they want to get serious.

Ray Kassar To David Crane : "you're no more important to Atari than the factory workers assembling the cartridges"

Al East:Toronto Blue JaysBaltimore Orioles New York YankeesBoston Red SoxTampa Bay RaysNotable Changes: Blue Jays add Josh Donaldson from athletics and may be favorites to take the division.

the blue jays are not going to win the American League East this year.Alex Anthopoulos does not have the background as a scout and talent evaluator to make very smart and risky moves as GM.All he can do is make consensus type moves.

Anthopoulos is an average GM. so expect average results on the field.

Toronto should bring back Pat Gillick from Philadelphia if they want to get serious.

NO YOU CANT HAVE HIM. WE NEED HIM.

How about the cubs right now? man, I wish I was a cubs fan. They are gonna have the scariest infeild in the game for quite a while pretty soon, and soler is no slouch in the outfeild. Of course I missed picking up russell in my fantasy league.

In MLB’s official rules on the “legal pitching delivery”, the phrase “disengaging the rubber” is used, but only in regards to what a pitcher can and cannot do with regards to pickoffs. For instance, it specifies that a pitcher must drop his hands if he disengages the rubber — in order to show that he’s no longer preparing to throw a pitch — but there isn’t any wording in there that says you cannot disengage the rubber during your natural throwing motion.

The fact that Walden has been doing this for years without punishment set a precedent that it was legal, and Capps even got assurance from MLB that his delivery is indeed allowable.

Marlins reliever Carter Capps received some clarification from Major League Baseball regarding his unorthodox delivery, where he takes a small hop off the rubber. Basically, it was pointed out to the reliever to not elevate so high.

Capps’ mechanics came into question last Thursday, when he was pitching in the ninth inning for Triple-A New Orleans. Each of Capps’ first two pitches against Omaha were called illegal pitches, resulting in automatic balls.

Rather than have Capps change his delivery, which could lead to injury, he was instructed to intentionally walk the batter. After the four pitches, Capps was replaced.

The next day, the Marlins contacted Major League Baseball seeking clarification on what Capps, who has 88 games of big league experience, was doing wrong.

“They just said they wanted me to make sure I dragged my foot and not get too elevated in the air, and make sure it’s more on a lateral plane,” Capps said. “As long as I do that, they have no problem with it. But it was very strange.”

…

“It doesn’t look pretty, obviously,” Capps said. “But that’s the first time anybody had a blatant problem with it. They didn’t want me to get too much elevation. They understand I’m going to come off the rubber, but they wanted me to drag my toe a little bit more. I’m going to try to do that.”

So, according to Capps, jumping forward is okay, but jumping up is not. The league clearly knows their rulebook a lot better than I do, though I will admit that I was unable to find anything in the rules that would be the basis for that conclusion. That doesn’t mean it isn’t in there. Perhaps there is an addendum to the delivery rule that simply didn’t make its way online. This isn’t an area where I’m going to claim to have any kind of insight, because I’m not a rules junkie, and I’ve never umpired. If MLB says it is legal, then it’s legal.

TL:DR: There is nothing in the rulebook about leaving the rubber during a pitch. The Marlins asked for clarification from MLB and they said as long as he doesn't elevate while doing the "jump" then it is legal.